Rep. Howard L. Berman Holds a Hearing On International Piracy

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Rep. Howard L. Berman Holds a Hearing On International Piracy

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COURTS, THE INTERNET AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY HOLDS A HEARING ON INTERNATIONAL PIRACY

OCTOBER 18, 2007

SPEAKERS: REP. HOWARD L. BERMAN, D-CALIF. CHAIRMAN REP. JOHN CONYERS JR., D-MICH. REP. RICK BOUCHER, D-VA. REP. ROBERT WEXLER, D-FLA. REP. MELVIN WATT, D-N.C. REP. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE, D-TEXAS REP. STEPHEN I. COHEN, D-TENN. REP. HANK JOHNSON, D-GA. REP. BRAD SHERMAN, D-CALIF. REP. ANTHONY WEINER, D-N.Y. REP. ADAM B. SCHIFF, D-CALIF.

REP. HOWARD COBLE, R-N.C. RANKING MEMBER REP. TOM FEENEY, R-FLA. REP. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER JR., R-WIS. REP. ELTON GALLEGLY, R-CALIF. REP. ROBERT W. GOODLATTE, R-VA. REP. STEVE CHABOT, R-OHIO REP. CHRIS CANNON, R-UTAH REP. RIC KELLER, R-FLA. REP. DARRELL ISSA, R-CALIF. REP. MIKE PENCE, R-IND. REP. LAMAR SMITH, R-TEXAS EX OFFICIO

WITNESSES: VICTORIA A. ESPINEL, ASSISTANT U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & INNOVATION, OFFICE OF THE U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE,

ERIC H. SMITH, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ALLIANCE,

LOREN YAGER, DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND TRADE, GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE

MARK MACCARTHY, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL PUBLIC POLICY, VISA INCORPORATED

[*] BERMAN: The hearing of the Subcommittee on Courts, Internet and Intellectual Property will come to order.

I'd like to begin by welcoming everyone to this hearing, International Piracy: The Challenges of Protecting Intellectual Property in the 21st Century.

I'll recognize myself for an opening statement.

Almost a year ago, in connection with bilateral negotiations on the Russian Federation's accession to the World Trade Organization, the Russian government and the U.S. reached an agreement regarding actions to improve the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in Russia. Just last week, the U.S. requested the WTO establish a dispute settlement panel to challenge China's restrictions on the importation and distribution of products of copyright-intensive industries such as theatrical films, DVDs, music, books and journals.

This hearing will update us on the status of our efforts in these two specific countries, which many have identified as the primary culprits in allowing piracy and counterfeiting to flourish.

We also will look at the piracy problem in other countries and the challenges America faces when trying to alter the legal landscape and enforcement mechanisms available.

This is an effort to ensure that other countries do not thrive on the backs of American creativity.

Today's witnesses will speak to the importance of I.P. to the global economy. So I'd like to use my time to move beyond that particular aspect of the issue to identify causes for the lack of adequate protection for I.P. in some places, and to talk about solutions and incentives to address the problem.

Hopefully these will dovetail with the I.P. enforcement bill that I hope to be introducing shortly with the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Conyers, as the lead author, along with the ranking member of the full Judiciary Committee, Mr. Smith, and ranking member of this subcommittee, Mr. Coble.

The Organization for Economic Operation and Development recently released their report on the economic impact of counterfeiting and piracy together with suggestions to enact stronger criminal penalties and increase enforcement of national laws, strengthen cooperation between government and industry, and educate consumers.

These are the cornerstones of effective I.P. protection. Each of the participants -- governments, industries and consuming public -- must have the will to do it, the will to respect intellectual property rights.

Sometimes that will comes naturally, as when the participants understand that I.P. enforcement is in their own interest. That occurred, at least for a brief moment, in China when they saw counterfeit 2008 Olympic T-shirts appearing on street corners.

But sometimes outside inducement is helpful. Some nations, such as Russia, do not yet meet international standards in their I.P. laws. Others, such as China, may have good laws on the books but often fail to enforce them.

How do we get Russia, China and other emerging market economies to, as Mark MacCarthy of Visa states, do the right thing?

We have the tools of persuasion and trade benefits at our disposal and, of course, international law in accession to the WTO. Sometimes it just takes a l...

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